


Do What You Gotta (He Needs Me)

by Gangstertogangster



Category: Luke Cage (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drunkenness, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Sex, Light Angst, Mild Sexual Content, Older Woman/Younger Man, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 08:47:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19787395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gangstertogangster/pseuds/Gangstertogangster
Summary: Mariah is drinking and thinking, a deadly combination for her.A little ficlet about Mariah not being sure about the relationship she's in.Inspired by a lot of the hate I see for Shadymariah.





	Do What You Gotta (He Needs Me)

Mariah sat on the deep leather couch in the office, staring ahead with yet another glass of vodka in her hand. She had the lights off so just the natural glow of daylight illuminated the room. Nina Simone was playing on the stereo of the office. _He needs me, he doesn't know it..._ Nina's voice was drifting through the air, the piano melody a bittersweet mixture with the liquor. If Nina's voice didn't bounce off the office walls, the silence would be deafening.

_And I'm gonna be his friend or his lover..._

They made love to this song so many times. Did he know it though? She adjusted her dress, leaned back on the sofa, recline with the drink. She downed the rest of it, resting the glass down on the floor. She slid her heels off, letting her bare feet breathe. They had sex so many times in this office. She liked Mama Mabel's portrait observing from the photo frame nearby. This was HER choice, her affair, her life. Sometimes she felt guilty and rushed to turn it down. Her lover just rolled his eyes, looked at her with a mixture of pity and irritation. Her lover. My lover who is most likely just using me for my money. He blows into town and shacks up with me and who knows if what he says is true...

Mariah ran her hands through her hair, immediately regretting fussing with her perm. That's what he liked, right? Running his hands through her hair, burying his face in it as he buried himself deeper and deeper into her? 

Mariah shut her eyes, trying to steady herself. It was never really liquor that made her edgy, it was always some other factor. She could feel her heart thumping so hard it might as well be trying to escape her chest. She felt the weight of her eyeshadow, foundation, lipstick on her sullen face. _I need to text him. I need to see him, no, he'll come over, he always does._

He really hated Alex being over. Sometimes she had Alex over just so he'd tell him to go away and he'd take her in his arms and take her off to bed and really take her off... She cleared her throat, saying to herself "fuck it", knocked the glass over with her foot.

"Shit" she muttered as she bent down to pick it up. The glass was relatively dry, so she didn't need to worry about clean-up, but all the same she glared down at the empty glass. She walked over to the bar, placing the glass down on the counter. She let her pedicured toes sink into the carpeting.

 _Broken windows and empty hallways, a pale dead moon in the sky streaked with grey..._ The songs had kept playing, Nina kept singing and now she was singing about lonely lonely...

Why was Hernan STILL not here. She trudged over to the big oak desk, grabbed her phone. She searched for the contact "Hernan" and she just texted on an eggplant emoji, a peach emoji, a sweat emoji. Alex taught her about emojis, though she was slow to catch on. She felt her hand tremble afterwards. She saw the looks the other couples gave them out in public.

She told Hernan "it works" and "let it go" so many times but it really was easier said than done. The text said "read" and Mariah just stared expectantly as the grey text with the loading dots appeared, meaning he was typing a response. But then the grey and the dots vanished. He scrapped it.

Mariah spat "damn him!" "Damn who, damn me?" His voice rang out amidst the next song's somber tune. Hernan sauntered in.

"What took your ass so long?" Mariah lightly chided.

"I'm more than a booty call ain't I?" He answered as he took off his suit jacket, draping it over the arm of the sofa. The softness of the reply was undercut by a slight edge. He was in his feelings too. Mariah dismissively tossed up a hand.

"I was coming over anyway. You knew that."

"No I didn't" Mariah snottily returned, though in her heart of hearts she knew he was. She smiled at him.

"You been drinkin'" Hernan observed, an air of disapproval in his tone.

"I been thinkin', Hernan. It was a couple vodkas but you know I can hold more than that." Hernan nodded. Looked at her, and she felt so nervous under his gaze. He was looking at her with a kind of solemn intensity, like he was a doctor about to deliver bad news. Why didn't he just take his clothes off? "Why don't you just take your clothes off?" She repeated, this time aloud.

Hernan scoffed loud, right as the lyric 'when you kiss me' interjected itself into their conversation. "Stop it" he commanded. 

Mariah looked into his eyes and didn't know what to do next. She only folded her arms. Then she snapped. "Don't scold me like a child." 

"Then don't act like one!" Hernan said, exasperated. They stood across from each other at a distance that felt more like a miles apart length. 

"I can understand how it can be kinda hard to love a girl like me" Mariah sighed. 

"Nina just sang that." 

"If the shoe fits..." Mariah replied. 

"Do what you gotta do" Hernan playfully shot back in a sing-song manner, stepping closer. 

"Take your clothes off" Mariah laughed, though with a persistent hint of sorrow in her tone. 

Hernan rolled his eyes, shook his head. 

"Why not?" Mariah whined. She didn't even want to have sex, she just wanted him to show some interest. 

"When you sober." 

"I ain't drunk, Hernan." 

"When you're done thinking then." 

"I ain't sexy."

"Mama, you are the sexiest" he purred. "You know it, you know I know it" he stepped closer, stroking her face. She snuggled into his chest. 

"You stayin'?" 

"I ain't got shit to do" 

Mariah nodded, humming. 'If I Should Lose You' wafted through the air. 


End file.
